THE ALPHA'S REJECTED MATE

THE COUNCIL SEES EVERYTHING

CHAPTER 4: THE COUNCIL SEES EVERYTHING

The door slammed open.

Five elders. Ten guards. And Alpha Damian’s mother, Luna Selene Blackwood.

All staring at us.

At me. In my clinic.

At him. Shirtless. Bleeding.

With my hands still on his chest.

The air went dead.

"What is the meaning of this?" Luna Selene’s voice could cut glass. Her eyes landed on the mate mark on Damian’s chest. Then on me. "Ava Carter."

My name like poison.

Damian didn’t flinch. He stepped in front of me. Instinct. Protection.

The same man who walked away from me 3 years ago.

"Mother," he said calmly. "You’re interrupting my treatment."

"Treatment?" Elder Rowan sneered. "You’re half naked with the woman you publicly rejected. The exiled wolf. The embarrassment of our pack."

I kept my face blank. But inside I was burning.

Damian turned. Just slightly. Enough for only me to see his jaw tick.

"Watch your tongue," he said, low. Dangerous. "She’s saving the pack."

"By seducing you?" Luna Selene laughed. Cruel. "We saw the livestream 3 years ago, Damian. She’s weak. She’s nothing. And now you’re dying and crawling back to her?"

That was it.

Three years of silence. Three years of being called weak.

Snapped.

I stepped out from behind him. Head high.

"You’re right," I said. My voice was steady. "I am nothing."

The elders smiled.

"I’m nothing," I continued. "I’m just the only healer who can cure Moonbane. I’m just the only one who can save your precious Alpha, his mother, and half your bloodline before sunrise."

The smiles dropped.

Luna Selene’s face went white. "What?"

"That’s right." I held up the vial of black liquid I’d drawn from Damian. "Moonbane. In the water supply. In your tea. In the nursery. Unless I treat them in the next 6 hours... your pack dies."

Elder Rowan lunged forward. "You’re lying—"

"Enough." Damian’s roar shook the walls. Power rolled off him in waves. "She speaks for me. From now on."

He turned to me. And in front of everyone, he took my hand.

His big, warm hand. The one that let go of me on live TV.

"Luna Ava Carter will be treating the pack," he announced. "Effective immediately."

Gasps.

"She is no Luna!" someone shouted.

Damian’s silver eyes locked on mine. Then he did the last thing I expected.

He lifted our joined hands. And pressed a kiss to my knuckles.

Right where our mate mark used to burn.

"She is my Luna," he said. Loud. For everyone to hear. "Starting tonight."

My heart stopped.

The elders looked like they’d been slapped. Luna Selene looked like she wanted to murder me.

And me?

I was trapped.

In a fake marriage.

With the man who broke me.

And the whole pack now thought it was real.

Damian leaned down, lips at my ear. Only I could hear him.

"Rule number three," he whispered. "We sell it."

He pulled back and smiled at the council. Perfect Alpha. Perfect mate.

"Prepare the announcement. Ava Carter is my chosen Luna. The wedding is in 3 days."

3 days.

To pretend to love the man who humiliated me.

To save the pack that threw me away.

To not lose myself in the process.

The council stormed out, furious.

The door closed.

And we were alone again.

Damian dropped my hand like it burned him. The Alpha mask slid back on.

"That was for show," he said. "Don’t get used to it."

I picked up my dagger from the table.

"Don’t worry, Alpha. I won’t."

But as I turned away, his hand caught my wrist. Gentle. But firm.

"Ava," he said. "Thank you."

I looked at him. At the man who ruined me. At the man I now had to marry.

"Don’t thank me yet," I whispered.

"The real pain starts in 3 days."

END OF CHAPTER 4

Word Count: ~1305

CLIFFHANGER: Wedding in 3 days. Fake Luna. Real danger. And he just kissed her hand in public.